News

A legal services contract which sets out no cost details except for an hourly rate does not meet EU rules on drafting contracts in "plain, intelligible language", the Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU) has ruled. In a ruling handed down yesterday, the CJEU said a contract must allow the c

Ireland has spent over €500 million on tribunals of inquiry, commissions of investigations and other inquiries in the past 25 years, according to new figures. Figures released to The Irish Times under freedom of information legislation show that €517 million has been spent on seven tribuna

The Supreme Court has granted permission for a leapfrog appeal by the State in a case concerning the burden of proof for the "reasonable mistake" defence in child sexual offence cases. The High Court last summer ruled that a legislative provision requiring a defendant to prove on the balance of prob

Belarus has effectively legalised piracy of copyrighted content from "unfriendly countries", including films, TV shows and music. A new temporary copyright law has been approved by Belarusian dictator Alyaksandr Lukashenka and comes into effect this week, according to the Russian office of Deutsche

New Israeli restrictions on the display of Palestinian flags in public spaces have been condemned by human rights campaigners as an attempt to "legitimise racism and discrimination". The Israeli government directive, issued by Israel’s new minister of national security Itamar Ben-Gvir on Sunda

The Northern Ireland Human Rights Commission (NIHRC) prize for the best Master's dissertation submitted to the Transitional Justice Institute (TJI) at Ulster University has been awarded to Fiona MacGregor. Ms MacGregor's dissertation, "Whose Rape is it Anyway?", explores UN responses to opportunisti

Arthur Cox has promoted Jacinta Conway and Amy McDermott to partners in the firm. Ms Conway has been appointed as a partner in the environment and planning team, while Ms McDermott becomes a partner in the corporate and M&A team. Both were previously senior associates.

Northern Ireland solicitor Alison Millar has been appointed as a director of the Irish Horseracing Regulatory Board (IHRB). Mrs Millar was a partner at Coleraine-based Macaulay Wray prior to her retirement from practice in 2017. She carried out part-time judicial work for over 39 years before retiri

A new report on the US legal market shows that as demand falters and other key metrics remain mixed, uncertainty in 2023 may cloud law firm leaders’ thinking. In the latter part of 2022 and continuing into the new year, multiple challenges have emerged to threaten law firm profitability, inclu

Pearce Clancy, a PhD scholar at the Irish Centre for Human Rights in University of Galway School of Law, has been awarded the EJ Phelan Fellowship in International Law by the National University of Ireland. The Fellowship is awarded to one applicant every two years for an 18-month period in honour o

Mason Hayes & Curran LLP has renewed its sponsorship of professional Irish cyclist Megan Armitage for the 2023 season. Commenting on the sponsorship, Ms Armitage said: "I’m really happy to announce that Mason Hayes and & Curran will continue to support my cycling endeavours through the

Ireland's privacy watchdog is facing a court battle over its "untenable" decision that a Facebook data leak did not amount to a data breach. The Data Protection Commission (DPC) last year imposed a €265 million fine on Meta Platforms Ireland Limited (MPIL) following its investigation into the d

Northern Ireland's bail regime is out-of-step with neighbouring jurisdictions, leading to more people being held on remand and for longer, according to a new report from the criminal justice watchdog. Following the report's publication this morning, the chief inspector of criminal justice in No

A poster of pop star Demi Lovato has been banned by the UK's advertising watchdog for causing offence to Christians. The Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) said it received a number of complaints over the poster, which shows the former Camp Rock star "bound up in a bondage-style outfit whilst lyi

Philip Lee has congratulated five newly-qualified solicitors on continuing their legal careers with the corporate law firm. Claudia Macklin, Lee Boorman, Catriona Walsh, Laura O'Brien and Hazel Murphy have been appointed as associate solicitors.